49ers

Yahoo Sports’ Charles Robinson writes that the market for 49ers QB Mac Jones will depend on the teams that would be a good fit for his specific skillset, actually ending up with a quarterback need this offseason.
Robinson adds that an NFC West exec pointed out to him that Jones’ best fit might actually be as the backup in San Francisco, as evidenced by how he stepped in and helped the 49ers not miss too much of a beat this year.
This executive added if Jones were to get another stint in the lineup between now and when his contract expires next year, he could be set to test unrestricted free agency with a hot market, which would be a better outcome for him than a trade. It would also give the 49ers the benefit of keeping Jones as an insurance policy for another year.
Dianna Russini of The Athletic named 49ers DC Robert Saleh as an assistant coach who could garner “serious looks” in the upcoming coaching cycle.
49ers LB Eric Kendricks was asked why he decided to sign with San Francisco after having his choice of teams: “This team was special. Even with all the adversity they faced, they seem to just fight. And it was inspiring to watch.” (Nick Wagoner)
49ers WR Jauan Jennings was fined $12,172 for striking/kicking/tripping/kneeing.

Rams

Rams HC Sean McVay was impressed with how the team bounced back from a loss against Carolina the previous week and dominated the Cardinals on Sunday.

“I thought the guys did a great job,” McVay said, via PFT. “This is a mentally tough group. This is a resilient group. You have to earn it. I thought they had a great week of preparation. I thought even just the maturity of — even some of the stuff where I wasn’t around a little bit, just because of what I was dealing with — just the way they handle it. These are grown men and they do such a great job. This is a player-led team. I can’t say enough about what a great job our coaches do [and] I don’t mean that to be minimizing them at all, but we have a lot of really great leaders in that locker room. I think they take the ownership, initiative of what we want to be about and how you ultimately want to be able to respond, not react, when we do have some of those setbacks. This is exactly in alignment with what we wanted and now we have to continue to build on it.”

McVay added that his absence on Friday had to do with an illness that went around his household.

“Just wanted to be smart [and] not give ourselves a chance of giving it to anybody else because of how contagious this can be,” McVay said. “Hopefully I didn’t by passing out game balls, trying to do the fist bump as much as you can. You realize how out of the norm it is for me — I’m a big hugger so hopefully I’ll feel better and can get back to being normal with these guys because I don’t like this. I felt good. I don’t want to get too descriptive with you but we fought through it and ultimately, the guys did a great job. I’m really proud of them. I think this is a cool reflection of the coaching staff in general too. It was a good step in the right direction and now we have to continue to build on this.”

Rams DL Braden Fiske was fined $11,881 for a hip-drop tackle.
Dianna Russini of The Athletic named Rams DC Chris Shula as an assistant coach who could garner “serious looks” in the upcoming coaching cycle.

Seahawks

Seahawks CB Riq Woolen echoed HC Mike Macdonald‘s comments on calling CB Devon Witherspoon a “force multiplier” and said his presence in the secondary elevates the unit.

“Having him out there, you know he’s going to be there, he’s loud, but his play speaks for itself as well,” Woolen said, via the team’s website. “Ball-knowers know, football players know and people around the league know that he’s a great player. When he’s out there, he’s a force multiplier. So, having him out there making those plays is amazing, and getting his first pick of the season is pretty cool.”

Witherspoon was happy to secure an interception, but he was more excited about celebrating another win with his team.

“It feels good, but we really don’t pay attention to the stat sheet, for real,” Witherspoon said. “We just go out there and do our job. That’s what makes us good, we don’t really care about the stats, who made the plays. We all celebrate because we’re all out there as one. But it felt good.”

Macdonald said they are “working through it” regarding TE Elijah Arroyo‘s knee injury: “I’d say this week is probably in jeopardy for him.” (Curtis Crabtree)
Dianna Russini of The Athletic named Seahawks OC Klint Kubiak as an assistant coach who could garner “serious looks” in the upcoming coaching cycle.

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